Sustainable Housing Manifesto

[Ecovillage Network UK]

from james36armstrong at hotmail.com
see also http://www.housingjustice.org.uk


Introduction
The land issue is a 'no no' to many people who falsely believe that land 
concerns farmers and Fernlie-Fanshaw fops..    This is an attempt to bring 
land into the political debate.
The method is to pick out housing as a universal concern and a subject 
which illustrates how the land monopoly affects us all.
There is a constituency out there of those in bad housing, those without 
the ability to get good housing, those who want an alternative life-style 
away from the job-city-mortgage and possibly commuting life-style.
A key sub group is 16 to 18yolds who must wonder how they are to own their 
own home when they 'grow up' and their parents.
The first step seems to be to agree a manifesto.Here is the draft of 
”Daring to Dream:Building the Dream.”
  Then to have the policy  recognised , debated and adopted by an existing 
political party.then legislated

JA


           DARING TO DREAM : DARING TO BUILD
a draft manifesto - campaign for sustainable affordable housing

The argument for radical change in housing policy building extensive houses 
in thecountryside.

Also a method of building very high quality houses  at prices suited to 
those in housing need.

£82,000,000,000, diverted from farm support, increases the capital  gains 
of monopoly landowners
They accrue additional gains ( currently £1million an acre) as farmland 
gets planning permission for houses.
The countryside was populated in 1851with 14 million  people & now is 
depopulated with  1 million.
Britain includes the largest regions with the lowest population ( 30 per sq 
km) of major European countries.

Population density in the  South East skews demand for housing there.
UK is unique in Europe with its concentration of the population in 7 
conurbations which skews average national population density statistics .

Developing housebuilding in house-constipated towns is unsustainable

The beauty of the countryside is blighted by proscribing appropriate 
housebuilding there and encouraging  the spread of tens of thousands of 
temporary corrugated iron barns, grain and feed  silos.

The beauty of the countryside is  blighted by favouring  and relying 
on  profit-driven land speculating housing contractors, effectively 
proscribing self-builders and failing to promote vernacular house building.

  It is not logical to rely on profit driven  housing contractors with a 
poor record of consumer satisfaction
To supply the houses required by the most needy sector of society with the 
least ability to pay.

There is no evidence that  Contractors out-turn is designed to meet the 
diverse  tastes , needs and price brackets (especially for houses 
with   productive garden sizes)  to suit the population especially where 
the greatest need is displayed by those with the least ability to pay.

A self-interested minority are spreading   mis-information to help sustain 
their monopoly of  land and the supply of  new houses.   This includes 
CLBA, NFU and National Housebuilding Federation

Wimpey type housing schemes are designed to maximise contractors' profits 
neither  to beautify the landscape , address the satisfaction of the 
occupiers, nor the needs of those in most urgent need of housing

Self built houses increase consumer satisfaction   reduce cost and are 
effectively proscribed by monopoly land prices and monopoly of available 
and prospective building sites, largely  by Housing Contractors .

Wimpey holds the biggest monopoly of building land of ten  contractors 
named by Barker.
The self-build cost of building a high quality, high specification  house 
is  £40,000
Farm land price is £3,000 per acre increasing overnight to £1.25m per acre 
with  plg permission for houses.

Money diverted from ineffective unnecessary and unworkable farm support 
should reward self build houses.
Planning guidance should favour building in the countryside to encourage 
sustainable living, beautify the countryside  , revitalise the rural 
economy.and encourage self help

Three houses can be built by self builders for the cost  of one offered at 
contractors' speculative prices..
  allowing Councils in return for planning permission to demand two social 
houses free for every three built.

This  formula is not the place to reform the planning regime.  One 
suggestion is that planning permission for houses should be made specific 
to the would be occupier thus empowering  consumers.

The Barker Report is premised erroneously on  overcrowded land density, 
misguidedly on relying on profit motivated self regulation by Housing 
Contractors to satisfy the needs of those in greatest housing need with the 
least power of achieving it does not address relieving overcrowding in the 
South East entirely overlooks the self build sector.

Barker’s  worst failing along with that of the government is a failure to 
upgrade peoples’ expectations from occupying cast off antiquated 
property  to expecting as of right permission to build themselves modern 
high specification  houses fit to raise  health, education, leisure and 
social standards for  present and future generations.  The Competition 
Commission refuses to prosecute the illegal monopoly on building land of 
ten named contractors.

  Uniquely in present day affluent  consumer society seeking novelty, 
innovation and using  modern technology,  peoples’ aspirations for houses 
are limited to cast-off (sometimes badly used and twentieth-hand) houses 
built before  and below modern standards of living space, insulation, 
ventilation, sanitation and amenity.  HMG are content to aspire 
to  houses  of a quality , condition of repair and age which if they were 
used cars would long ago have been confined to the breaker’s yard.If HMG 
were motor manufacturers they are in 2004 below  the  1950 production 
target!  They  would now , of course, be out of business.

James Armstrong            18th September 
2004                       james36armstrong at hotmail.com       

  ----------


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.745 / Virus Database: 497 - Release Date: 8/27/04


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]